The Lego Robot Challenge was the first part of our ALL (Activity-Led Learning) Project. The task in that sub-project was to build

either a line following robot, or a sumo one. 

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I was appointed as a part of Group B7. Before we started working on the robot, we conducted a brief skills-set analysis, where we identified some of our strengths and weaknesses. After that we talked about our hobbies and interests. Then we discussed the project and chose to build a line following robot.

 

We decided that the Track3r design will be the best option. We started building the TR3CKER immediatly and all members of our group took part in that activity. After about an hour of building and good team-work we were ready. We named our newly constructed robot Jeff.

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At home I did a research, I familiarised myself with the software  and managed to make a couple of programs in the EV3 software.

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Although they were not really what was needed, they gave me some experience in the software and helped me in the next phases of programming. Another thing that helped me was a more advanced test program, created by Christopher, a member of my team. 

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Every member had their allocated tasks for the robot. My first allocated task was to create some of the movements for the robot. Then the goal was to integrate my program inside Christopher's program.  I created a hybrid of all my previous simple programs, which resulted in that:

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That program was able to detect the edge of the black and white and managed to follow a straight line and even a curved one. 

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The following weeks we had a couple of group meetings where we allocated new tasks and we did run a lot of tests. Below is one of our many tests:

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We did a lot of tests and was able to fix some of our problems. But still a lot of problems remained: we still didn't have a good enough track and we needed to do a slight re-design. Also we still couldn't figure out how to differentiate three different colours.

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In the mean time I was allocated with another task. My responsibility was to integrate sounds into the program. With some research on the internet I was able to figure out how to input sounds correct, without hurting the time of reaction of the robot. With a couple of more tests the sounds were implented fully and worked flawlessly. For example, when the robot reached an object it would stop and say: "Move away!".

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The main problem remained - it couldn't recognize three different colours. Me and Cristopher created a calibration program and try to calibrate the sound sensor, but it turned out this wasn't the problem. 

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I was then allocated to fix some problems. I was responsible to fix the turns, which weren't smooth enough. I was also allocated the task to create the celebration , when it reaches colour red. In order to fix the turns, I had to change the values for the motor. With a couple of tests I was able to do it. I then added the celebration in the end of the program (after the main loop). The celebration was a 180 degrees turn for the robot and him using his bi-blade blender.

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We still had the problem of proper colour detection. Fortunately on a meeting outside of class, one of my team members came up with an idea and with team-work and a lot of tests, Jeffrey was able to recognize black, blue and red. Here are some of the tests:

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The robot was now able to do what it was intended to do. It was able to detect objects, it had bluetooth integration, could detect three different colours, could make smooth turns, had sounds and display information. We had an official test in front of the tutor on our custom-made track and everything went as it was supposed to.

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This project helped me enhance my programming skills, improve my working and collaboration in a team. I earned knowledge in the area of computer science and I also earned a lot of experience in the field of robotics, which might be very helpful for my future. 

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